Litsea indoverticillata Robi & Udayan, 2017

Robi, Aloor Jose, Udayan, Punnakkal Sreedharan, Li, Hsi-Wen & Li, Jie, 2017, A new species of Litsea (Lauraceae) from Kerala part of Western Ghats, India, Phytotaxa 303 (3), pp. 285-289 : 285-288

Litsea indoverticillata Robi & Udayan sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

The new species is closely similar to L. quinqueflora and L. verticillata , but differs in having a straggling shrub habit; 7–15 mm long, glabrous petiole; chartaceous and glabrous leaves, glabrous midrib; 15–24 pairs of lateral veins; solitary, glabrous and pruinose inflorescence; greenish-white to whitish flowers ( Table 1).

Type:— INDIA, Kerala, Kozhikode dist.: Kakkayam dam, old estate road, ± 1000 m, 17 June 2010 (fl.), P. S. Udayan & A. J. Robi 6930 (holotype, CMPR!, isotypes, MH!, KFRI!).

Straggling shrubs, 3–5 m tall; bark brown, smooth, lenticellate, inner bark pale yellow; branchlets slender, glabrous, and greenish. Leaves alternate, clustered towards the branch apices or sub-verticillate; petioles 7–15 mm long, stout, glabrous, slightly grooved above; lamina 12–16(–25) × 3–4(–6) cm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, glabrous on both sides, smooth and glossy above, pale glaucous below, chartaceous, base cuneate to rounded, apex acuminate to acute; midrib raised above, irregularly angular beneath, glabrous on both sides; lateral veins 15–24 pairs, slender, pinnate, closely arranged, straight, becoming curved and loop-connected towards margin, prominent below and slightly impressed above, glabrous on both sides; intercostae finely reticulate, raised below. Inflorescence a lateral, solitary umbel, in axils of leaves or caducous bracts, glabrous, pruinose; peduncle of umbels 5–13 mm long, slender, glabrous and pruinose; involucral bracts 4, ca. 3 × 3 mm, orbicular, concave, glabrous and glossy on both sides, coriaceous, caducous after anthesis. Flowers 5 in each umbel, 4 mm long, greenish-white to whitish; pedicels up to 2 mm long, silky-pubescent; tepals 6, ca. 1.3 × 0.8 mm, ovate, acute at apex, sub-equal, membranaceous, glabrous on both sides, greenish-white. Male flowers: not seen. Female flowers: staminodes 12, those of the outer whorls linear, those of the inner whorls subulate, ca. 1.3 mm long, glabrous, 2-glandular, glands ovate, ca. 0.5 mm long, stipitate; ovary ca. 1 mm long, globose; style ca. 1 mm long, curved, stout, greenish-yellow, glabrous; stigma capitate, papillose, white. Fruit 10 × 10 mm, globose, greenish to black, obscurely white dotted, glabrous, glossy, and seated on the enlarged perianth tube; perianth tube turbinate, greenish in color, glabrous; fruiting pedicels 5 mm long, stout, glabrous, brown and woody in nature.

Flowering & Fruiting:—June–August.

Distribution & Habitat:—So far, only known from two collections from Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. It is growing as undergrowth in wet evergreen forests of the sanctuary at about 1000 m, apparently very rare.

Etymology:—The specific epithet refers to its affinity to L. verticillata and ‘indo’ means Indian origin.

Relationships:—Even though male flowers of the new species are still unknown, we are confident to place it in Litsea because of its similarity to L. quinqueflora and L. verticillata . Species of Lindera are so far not known from southern India. The species shows similarities with L. quinqueflora ( Fig. 2 ) in its 5-flowered umbels, shrubby habit, and fruits. Litsea indoverticillata is different from L. quinqueflora in having solitary umbels, greenish-white floral parts, and 15–24 pairs of lateral veins. In contrast, L. quinqueflora is characterized by mostly shorter leaves, 7–12(– 20) × 3–5(–8) cm, elliptic-lanceolate or broadly elliptic, abaxially tomentose, not glaucous, with the midrib densely tomentulose above, 7–11(–15) pairs of arcuate lateral veins, solitary and clustered inflorescences, and pale pink or purple floral parts. The new species also shows similarities with L. verticillata in its sub-verticillate arrangement of leaves.

Conservation Status:— So far, it is known from a single locality only. A major threat to the population is forest fire, which can extend from the grassland to the adjacent forest. Clearing of trekking paths in the forest can also cause damage to the existing population. In the absence of any detailed data on populations, the species is categorized as ‘Data Deficient’ (DD) ( IUCN 2016).

Additional specimens examined (Paratypes):— INDIA, Kerala, Kozhikode dist.: Kakkayam dam, old estate road, ± 1000 m, 17 August 2011 (fl. & fr.), P.S. Udayan & A.J. Robi 28082 (KFRI!).

Figures

FIGURE 1.Litseaindoverticillata Robi &Udayan sp.nov. A. Habit withabaxial view ofleaves; B.Leaves,adaxial view;C. Inflorescences; D. Female umbels showing involucral bracts and flowers; E. Branch with infructescence; F. Immature fruit. (Photos A,B,E,F by A.J. Robi & C, D by N. Sasidharan)

FIGURE 2. Litsea quinqueflora (Dennst.) Suresh A. Habit of branch with male flowers; B. Habit of branch with female flowers; C. Bark; D. Branchlet with female inflorescence; E. Branch with immature fruit; leaves seen from adaxial side; F. Umbel with male flowers; G. Umbels with female flowers; H. Branch with infructescences; I. Immature fruits. (Photos by A.J. Robi)